Is a Robot Vacuum Worth It?

Every azygous day—weekend, weekday, rainfall oregon shine—whichever robot vacuum I’m presently investigating starts moving astatine 9 am. It’s ever a bully sign. I heave a suspiration of alleviation and proceed with immoderate other I was doing, contented that astatine slightest that f*cking chore successful my location is getting done.

When I archetypal started investigating robot vacuums 8 years ago, it sometimes seemed similar much occupation than it was worth. I cleaned up the floor. I meticulously maintained the antithetic sensors. Now I conscionable don’t care. (I mean, yes, I bash care, robot vacuum manufacturers, I conscionable attraction somewhat less.) Even if it gets tripped up connected my daughter’s latest knitting project, oregon it can’t mop the room due to the fact that I haven’t emptied the h2o tank. Just go, small soldier, go.

Robot vacuums are so overmuch smarter now. They tin navigate done galore much astonishing minefields of Lego bricks, stuffed animals, oregon piles of shoes than you mightiness person expected adjacent 2 oregon 3 years ago. As a moving genitor with 2 elementary-school-aged kids and a dog, I request each the assistance I tin get. Maybe it volition cleanable the full house; possibly it volition lone cleanable up 50 oregon 65 percent of it. But arsenic idiosyncratic who is perpetually warring chaos, consistency is what counts.

It's a Miss

It took a portion for maine to scope this Zen authorities (and besides to cod capable robot vacuums to person an service moving successful each country and level of my house). Based connected my years of talking to galore families (and trying to foist utilized robot vacuums connected them), these are a fewer reasons wherefore a robot vacuum mightiness not beryllium worthy it for you.

• You unrecorded successful a tiny space. If it lone takes you an hr oregon truthful to vacuum, wherefore bother?
• Your location has a analyzable layout. A batch of 1970s homes person strange, analyzable designs—a sunken surviving room, a playroom that’s up a fewer stairs, bedrooms upstairs. Although stair-climbing vacuums are connected the way, for now, it’s not worthy carrying a vacuum from country to room.
• You person rugs with weird tassels. The 1970s were atrocious for robot vacuums. Shag carpeting is besides bad, arsenic is simply a batch of debased furniture.
• You hatred maintenance. You truly can’t basal emptying the fussy small particulate container oregon refilling the h2o container. I’m going to accidental present that you astir apt person different problems that request addressing earlier getting a robot vacuum.

Even I don’t trust solely connected a robot vacuum to support my location clean. I besides person a Dyson instrumentality vacuum, a carpet cleaner, and a regular broom and mop successful a closet. If my kid spills a clump of flour nether the antagonistic portion she’s making pancakes, I’m not going to propulsion retired my phone, unfastened the app, and ticker a robot vacuum dilatory trundle implicit to spot-clean it.

It’s besides not large for deep-cleaning. No substance however overmuch a institution hypes up a robot’s suction power, it volition conscionable ne'er beryllium arsenic thorough arsenic adjacent the smallest manus vacuum. It’s conscionable physics. A robot vacuum’s centrifugal and artillery are smaller.

Even the champion navigation strategy cannot accommodate everything that happens successful a crazy, dynamic situation with a clump of gremlins and animals moving around. If I person radical coming over, I inactive person to locomotion astir and bash things similar enactment distant cushion forts and prime up the shreds of a log that my canine decided to pluck disconnected the woodpile and bring into the location to gnaw successful the warmth and comfortableness of the surviving room.